Teacher, teacher. . .

NBC has been touting"Education Nation" this past week,broadcasting news about the current state of our nation's schools and talking a great deal about the importance of good teachers. Although my school days, and that of my daughter and even my grandson, are long since over, my granddaughter-inlaw, Amy, is a third grade teacher in Jacksonville,FL, so I found myself paying close attention to what they were saying. Over and over again they talked about the difference a good teacher can make.

I know one thing for sure. The kids in Amy's class are lucky kids. Her school apparently realizes it as well because she was recently a finalist in the Teacher Of The Year awards. I am well aware that Amy often reaches into her own pocket to buy colored markers and various items for the science, math and social studies projects she plans for the kids in her class. Apparently, most caring teachers find themself long on ideas and short on funds these days.

I know what the kids are doing because Amy writes a blog called "31 Thrilling Thinkers" (there are 31 students and two teachers in this class)that goes via the internet to the parents of all her kids. I'm grandmothered in. By the end of the term I feel like I know each of the children in the class via the still photos and videos that she films, captions and posts. Imagine how fabulous this must be for the parents. . some of whom are in the service overseas. . to be able to actually see their sons and daughters working on the incredibly creative projects that Amy finds/thinks up, to illustrate a subject they are studying at the time.

If they study American Indians in Social Studies they make sand paintings and create Navaho-style arrowheads. The kids get really involved in the science projects, currently they are growing stuff and carrying out all sorts of complex experiments. I never cease to be amazed at the creativity that these kids show.

Not all the projects are so serious. Recently the kids were told to draw a picture of their two teachers. . just one catch. . they had to use their non-writing hand. The photo on the left is "Mrs. Anker by Emily". The one on the right is just in case you don't know what Amy really looks like. Bet you never had a teacher that pretty when you were in school.